Novak Djokovic: Life and Tennis Quiz

Answer: Serbia

Even at a very early age (Djokovic was 16 when he turned pro) Novak would prove to be one of Serbia's greatest ever male tennis players. Djokovic really came to public attention when he made it to the quarterfinal stage of the French Open in 2006, and entered the record books for a feat completed in 2008.

In 2008, Djokovic became the then youngest person in the open era (era has existed since 1968) to make it to the semi-finals of all four Grand Slam events.

Answer: Baseline play

It is indeed very rare to come across any modern professional tennis player that has their play dominated by anything other than a strong baseline attack. Over the decades, which includes the significant change in racket styles, the sport has become considerably faster and the emphasis seems to have switched from net play and serve and volley to both players attacking from the baseline.

The successful Novak Djokovic was no exception.

Answer: Roger Federer

Just goes to show how good Roger Federer is that no matter how great a season a player is having and how great their form is, he is that little bit better! Federer actually cruised through his fourth round match with Novak Djokovic at the 2007 Australian Open. Roger Federer beat Djokovic in straight sets (3-0) and the scores of the sets were 6-2, 7-5, and 6-3.

These set scores seem to indicate that Federer had control of the match right from the first serve.

Answer: Rafael Nadal

The Serbian tennis star Novak Djokovic proved to be of little contest to Rafael Nadal, a man who feels right at home on the clay court. Nadal beat Djokovic in straight sets before going on to win the entire tournament by defeating Roger Federer in the final.

Rafael Nadal first asserted his dominance on the clay court when he won the French Open in 2005. He also won this tournament in 2006, 2007 and 2008 which is a pretty impressive streak of consecutive wins. By 2009, Nadal had won three of the four Grand Slam events with just the US Open eluding him.

Answer: Maria Sharapova

Maria Sharapova was certainly one of those tennis players that left you in no doubt that they were on the court! Her screams were sometimes received humorously and other times sparked controversy. Novak Djokovic was also known for his worryingly and amusingly accurate imitation of clay court specialist Rafael Nadal's in-game antics. Novak picked up on the fact that Nadal was very obsessive about how many times he bounced the ball before serve and other such rituals.

Answer: Boris Becker

Novak Djokovic would turn out to be the first person to successfully attempt to navigate this gauntlet of dominant tennis players in thirteen years. There is also an element of luck in achieving what Becker and Djokovic did as the tournament draw would have to fall perfectly such that you have a chance of playing the top three rated players in the world.

The three players that Djokovic beat on his way to winning the 2007 Rogers Cup were Andy Roddick (rank 3), Rafael Nadal (Rank 2) and Roger Federer (rank 1).

Answer: US Open

Novak Djokovic made it through the knockout stages of the 2007 US Open in convincing style. He played a Spaniard in the quarterfinals, Carlos Moya, and disposed of him in straight sets and progressed to play another Spaniard, David Ferrer, in the semi-finals. Djokovic again managed to win the match without dropping a set and was seen to be in good form with Roger Federer lurking as the only man left to beat to lift the trophy.

The Serbian could not manage to beat the Swiss tennis legend and the 2007 US Open was won by Roger Federer.

Answer: Bronze

Novak Djokovic represented his home country of Serbia in the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympic Games in singles tennis. He lost to Spain's Rafael Nadal in the semi-final stage and thus played in the bronze medal match against America's James Blake. Djokovic comfortably claimed the bronze medal in two sets, 6-3 and 7-6.

As for the gold and silver medals, well, they were claimed by Rafael Nadal and Chile's Fernando Gonzalez respectively after a three set final.

Answer: Australia

Novak Djokovic seemingly got his revenge on Roger Federer for eliminating the Serbian in the final of the 2007 US Open, and he did this by knocking Federer out in the semi-finals of the 2008 Australian Open. Djokovic's opponent in the final was Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga but the latter, despite a good fight, couldn't stop the Serbian from getting his hands on the trophy. Djokovic won the match by three sets to one and finally gained the glory he so desired.

Answer: No

It must have been disappointing for Novak Djokovic to go from the dizzy heights of Grand Slam success in 2008 to not even making a Grand Slam final in any of the four major events of 2009. The closest the Serbian could get to replicating his success at the 2008 Australian Open was at the 2009 US Open where he got as far as the semi-final.